Indices declines 0.7% amid rising oil prices and geopolitical tensions

Synopsis

Indian equity indices closed lower on Friday due to Israel's strikes on Iran, which raised concerns about oil supply disruptions and a wider Middle East conflict. Despite an initial sharp fall, the market recovered some losses, supported by underlying bullish sentiment. Both Nifty and Sensex declined, with investors closely watching key support levels for further market direction.

Mumbai: India's equity indices ended 0.7% lower on Friday after falling as much as 1.6% earlier in the day after Israel's strikes on Iran raised fears of supply disruption of crude oil and a wider conflict in the Middle East. Brent Crude Futures jumped over 7% to $74.6 per barrel on Friday.

Analysts said the underlying bullish undertone helped the market cut a portion of its losses in Friday's trading session. "Despite the bearish news flows, the decline in the market was limited as benchmark Nifty held the key support level of 24,460 and recovered the losses made in the early trading session," said Akshay Chinchalkar, head of research, Axis Securities.

The NSE Nifty fell 0.7%, or 169.60 points, to finish at 24,718.60. The BSE Sensex moved 0.7%, or 573.38 points, lower at 81,118.60. Both indices declined by over 1% each in the past five trading sessions.

Israel has launched unprecedented strikes on Iran, targeting its nuclear programme and military leaders. The event sent oil prices soaring on worries that an escalation could disrupt supplies from the oil-rich region. Iran is one of the world's biggest oil producers. Brent crude has surged about 14% in the past two days.

At home, the Volatility Index or VIX-the market's fear gauge-gained 7.6% to 15.08 on Friday, indicating traders expect higher risks in the near term.

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Analysts do not expect a bigger slide unless key support levels of 24,450-24,500 are breached.

"Till the support levels are intact, any declines are expected to be bought into," said Ruchit Jain, vice president- head, technical research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services. "Nifty is likely to witness time-wise correction and struggle to move above 25,000 to 25,200 levels."

The Nifty Mid-cap 150 and the Small-cap 250 indices declined 0.4% each. In the past week, the mid-cap index shed 1.2% while the small-cap index fell 0.44%. Out of the 4,122 shares traded on the BSE, 1,401 advanced, while 2,595 declined. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net of ₹3,831 crore on Friday. Their domestic counterparts sold shares worth ₹9,394 crore. In June, overseas investors sold shares worth ₹5,079.8 crore.

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